Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Julia McKenzie, Robert Webb, Antony Sher, Charity Wakefield, Hermione Norris, Alistair Mackenzie, Daniel Rigby, Montserrat Lombard, Oliver Ford-Davis, MyAnna Buring, Anele Matoti, Joe Vaz, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charles Mesure, Piipa Bennett-Warner, Warren Brown, Jeremy Crutchley, Charlie Higson.
Not even in the Caribbean are you safe from Miss. Marple, the woman with the scent of murder in her nose even when she is sent abroad to recuperate after a bout of illness always finds the murderer in the end.
Agatha Christie novels have always made sparkling adaptations, whether for the stage or screen and there can be no faulting the location, scenery and overall joy in which the programme captures in this episode, Marple: A Caribbean Mystery just somehow manages to stay on the right side of decent murder thriller and away from the contrived feel that the set-ups were narrowly missing.
Even with a fantastic cast, including the great Antony Sher, the seductively good MyAnna Buring, Hermione Norris, Oliver Ford-Davis and rising star Daniel Rigby who was fascinating in Black Mirror: The Waldo Moment, the nature of the beast seemed to concentrate more on the natural beauty of the island than on the plot. Not that this is a bad thing as if the ordinary person cannot get to the islands, then the islands must come to them. It is just a shame that at some point the viewer will tempted to think, instead of why murder them, what did they know about x, that they instead think, you know that looks like a really great place to relax, swim and get really comfy in, even with lots of dead people getting in the way.
That aside, Marple: A Caribbean Mystery, delivered exactly what it set it to do and in Julia Mckenzie, this is softer but more shrewd version in viewers eyes. Whereas the great Joan Hickson was out and out the finest Marple of them all, the manner of her deductions could leave you feeling cold and aloof as if the reveal was just a by-product of the well worn investigation. Not so with Julia Mckenzie, this actor shows the beauty and frailty of dealing with murder in older age and for that Ms. Mckenzie should be congratulated for making the part more accessible and honest. It is a delight to see her still on television.
Miss Marple is an institution but apart from it having the right woman in the part and some excellent cast members, this new series has got off to an above average start.
Ian D. Hall